Techniques of reporting multiple CSI reports on PUSCH

ABSTRACT

In an aspect of the disclosure, a method, a computer-readable medium, and an apparatus are provided. The apparatus may be a UE. The UE receives, from a base station, a trigger for reporting M CSI reports. M is an integer greater than 0. The UE determines a wait time period from a reference point to a time point at which N CSI reports of the M CSI reports are to be transmitted. N is an integer greater than 0 and smaller than or equal to M. The UE determines N respective processing time periods for updating the N CSI reports. The UE determines a maximum processing time period that is the largest among the N respective processing time periods. The UE further determines whether to update the N CSI reports based on the maximum processing time period and the wait time period.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application claims the benefits of U.S. Provisional ApplicationSer. No. 62/593,371, entitled “UE CAPABILITY FOR CSI REPORTING” andfiled on Dec. 1, 2017 and U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No.62/610,579, entitled “UE CAPABILITY FOR CSI REPORTING” and filed on Dec.27, 2017, both of which are expressly incorporated by reference hereinin their entirety.

BACKGROUND Field

The present disclosure relates generally to communication systems, andmore particularly, to techniques of transmitting beam management (BM)up-link control information (UCI) report and channel state information(CSI) report at the same UCI region by a user equipment (UE).

Background

The statements in this section merely provide background informationrelated to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.

Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide varioustelecommunication services such as telephony, video, data, messaging,and broadcasts. Typical wireless communication systems may employmultiple-access technologies capable of supporting communication withmultiple users by sharing available system resources. Examples of suchmultiple-access technologies include code division multiple access(CDMA) systems, time division multiple access (TDMA) systems, frequencydivision multiple access (FDMA) systems, orthogonal frequency divisionmultiple access (OFDMA) systems, single-carrier frequency divisionmultiple access (SC-FDMA) systems, and time division synchronous codedivision multiple access (TD-SCDMA) systems.

These multiple access technologies have been adopted in varioustelecommunication standards to provide a common protocol that enablesdifferent wireless devices to communicate on a municipal, national,regional, and even global level. An example telecommunication standardis 5G New Radio (NR). 5G NR is part of a continuous mobile broadbandevolution promulgated by Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) tomeet new requirements associated with latency, reliability, security,scalability (e.g., with Internet of Things (IoT)), and otherrequirements. Some aspects of 5G NR may be based on the 4G Long TermEvolution (LTE) standard. There exists a need for further improvementsin 5G NR technology. These improvements may also be applicable to othermulti-access technologies and the telecommunication standards thatemploy these technologies.

SUMMARY

The following presents a simplified summary of one or more aspects inorder to provide a basic understanding of such aspects. This summary isnot an extensive overview of all contemplated aspects, and is intendedto neither identify key or critical elements of all aspects nordelineate the scope of any or all aspects. Its sole purpose is topresent some concepts of one or more aspects in a simplified form as aprelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.

In an aspect of the disclosure, a method, a computer-readable medium,and an apparatus are provided. The apparatus may be a UE. The UEreceives, from a base station, a trigger for reporting M CSI reports. Mis an integer greater than 0. The UE determines a wait time period froma reference point to a time point at which N CSI reports of the M CSIreports are to be transmitted. N is an integer greater than 0 andsmaller than or equal to M. The UE determines N respective processingtime periods for updating the N CSI reports. The UE determines a maximumprocessing time period that is the largest among the N respectiveprocessing time periods. The UE further determines whether to update theN CSI reports based on the maximum processing time period and the waittime period.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, the one or moreaspects comprise the features hereinafter fully described andparticularly pointed out in the claims. The following description andthe annexed drawings set forth in detail certain illustrative featuresof the one or more aspects. These features are indicative, however, ofbut a few of the various ways in which the principles of various aspectsmay be employed, and this description is intended to include all suchaspects and their equivalents.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a wireless communicationssystem and an access network.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a base station in communication with aUE in an access network.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example logical architecture of a distributedaccess network.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example physical architecture of a distributedaccess network.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a DL-centric subframe.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of an UL-centric subframe.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating communications between a base stationand UE.

FIG. 8 is a flow chart of a method (process) for updating multiple CSIreports.

FIG. 9 is a conceptual data flow diagram illustrating the data flowbetween different components/means in an exemplary apparatus.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardwareimplementation for an apparatus employing a processing system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The detailed description set forth below in connection with the appendeddrawings is intended as a description of various configurations and isnot intended to represent the only configurations in which the conceptsdescribed herein may be practiced. The detailed description includesspecific details for the purpose of providing a thorough understandingof various concepts. However, it will be apparent to those skilled inthe art that these concepts may be practiced without these specificdetails. In some instances, well known structures and components areshown in block diagram form in order to avoid obscuring such concepts.

Several aspects of telecommunication systems will now be presented withreference to various apparatus and methods. These apparatus and methodswill be described in the following detailed description and illustratedin the accompanying drawings by various blocks, components, circuits,processes, algorithms, etc. (collectively referred to as “elements”).These elements may be implemented using electronic hardware, computersoftware, or any combination thereof. Whether such elements areimplemented as hardware or software depends upon the particularapplication and design constraints imposed on the overall system.

By way of example, an element, or any portion of an element, or anycombination of elements may be implemented as a “processing system” thatincludes one or more processors. Examples of processors includemicroprocessors, microcontrollers, graphics processing units (GPUs),central processing units (CPUs), application processors, digital signalprocessors (DSPs), reduced instruction set computing (RISC) processors,systems on a chip (SoC), baseband processors, field programmable gatearrays (FPGAs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), state machines, gatedlogic, discrete hardware circuits, and other suitable hardwareconfigured to perform the various functionality described throughoutthis disclosure. One or more processors in the processing system mayexecute software. Software shall be construed broadly to meaninstructions, instruction sets, code, code segments, program code,programs, subprograms, software components, applications, softwareapplications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects,executables, threads of execution, procedures, functions, etc., whetherreferred to as software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardwaredescription language, or otherwise.

Accordingly, in one or more example embodiments, the functions describedmay be implemented in hardware, software, or any combination thereof. Ifimplemented in software, the functions may be stored on or encoded asone or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium.Computer-readable media includes computer storage media. Storage mediamay be any available media that can be accessed by a computer. By way ofexample, and not limitation, such computer-readable media can comprise arandom-access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an electricallyerasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), optical disk storage, magnetic diskstorage, other magnetic storage devices, combinations of theaforementioned types of computer-readable media, or any other mediumthat can be used to store computer executable code in the form ofinstructions or data structures that can be accessed by a computer.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a wireless communicationssystem and an access network 100. The wireless communications system(also referred to as a wireless wide area network (WWAN)) includes basestations 102, UEs 104, and an Evolved Packet Core (EPC) 160. The basestations 102 may include macro cells (high power cellular base station)and/or small cells (low power cellular base station). The macro cellsinclude base stations. The small cells include femtocells, picocells,and microcells.

The base stations 102 (collectively referred to as Evolved UniversalMobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access Network(E-UTRAN)) interface with the EPC 160 through backhaul links 132 (e.g.,S1 interface). In addition to other functions, the base stations 102 mayperform one or more of the following functions: transfer of user data,radio channel ciphering and deciphering, integrity protection, headercompression, mobility control functions (e.g., handover, dualconnectivity), inter-cell interference coordination, connection setupand release, load balancing, distribution for non-access stratum (NAS)messages, NAS node selection, synchronization, radio access network(RAN) sharing, multimedia broadcast multicast service (MBMS), subscriberand equipment trace, RAN information management (RIM), paging,positioning, and delivery of warning messages. The base stations 102 maycommunicate directly or indirectly (e.g., through the EPC 160) with eachother over backhaul links 134 (e.g., X2 interface). The backhaul links134 may be wired or wireless.

The base stations 102 may wirelessly communicate with the UEs 104. Eachof the base stations 102 may provide communication coverage for arespective geographic coverage area 110. There may be overlappinggeographic coverage areas 1 10. For example, the small cell 102′ mayhave a coverage area 110′ that overlaps the coverage area 110 of one ormore macro base stations 102. A network that includes both small celland macro cells may be known as a heterogeneous network. A heterogeneousnetwork may also include Home Evolved Node Bs (eNBs) (HeNBs), which mayprovide service to a restricted group known as a closed subscriber group(CSG). The communication links 120 between the base stations 102 and theUEs 104 may include uplink (UL) (also referred to as reverse link)transmissions from a UE 104 to a base station 102 and/or downlink (DL)(also referred to as forward link) transmissions from a base station 102to a UE 104. The communication links 120 may use multiple-input andmultiple-output (MIMO) antenna technology, including spatialmultiplexing, beamforming, and/or transmit diversity. The communicationlinks may be through one or more carriers. The base stations 102/UEs 104may use spectrum up to Y MHz (e.g., 5, 10, 15, 20, 100 MHz) bandwidthper carrier allocated in a carrier aggregation of up to a total of YxMHz (x component carriers) used for transmission in each direction. Thecarriers may or may not be adjacent to each other. Allocation ofcarriers may be asymmetric with respect to DL and UL (e.g., more or lesscarriers may be allocated for DL than for UL). The component carriersmay include a primary component carrier and one or more secondarycomponent carriers. A primary component carrier may be referred to as aprimary cell (PCell) and a secondary component carrier may be referredto as a secondary cell (SCell).

The wireless communications system may further include a Wi-Fi accesspoint (AP) 150 in communication with Wi-Fi stations (STAs) 152 viacommunication links 154 in a 5 GHz unlicensed frequency spectrum. Whencommunicating in an unlicensed frequency spectrum, the STAs 152/AP 150may perform a clear channel assessment (CCA) prior to communicating inorder to determine whether the channel is available.

The small cell 102′ may operate in a licensed and/or an unlicensedfrequency spectrum. When operating in an unlicensed frequency spectrum,the small cell 102′ may employ NR and use the same 5 GHz unlicensedfrequency spectrum as used by the Wi-Fi AP 150. The small cell 102′,employing NR in an unlicensed frequency spectrum, may boost coverage toand/or increase capacity of the access network.

The gNodeB (gNB) 180 may operate in millimeter wave (mmW) frequenciesand/or near mmW frequencies in communication with the UE 104. When thegNB 180 operates in mmW or near mmW frequencies, the gNB 180 may bereferred to as an mmW base station. Extremely high frequency (EHF) ispart of the RF in the electromagnetic spectrum. EHF has a range of 30GHz to 300 GHz and a wavelength between 1 millimeter and 10 millimeters.Radio waves in the band may be referred to as a millimeter wave. NearmmW may extend down to a frequency of 3 GHz with a wavelength of 100millimeters. The super high frequency (SHF) band extends between 3 GHzand 30 GHz, also referred to as centimeter wave. Communications usingthe mmW/near mmW radio frequency band has extremely high path loss and ashort range. The mmW base station 180 may utilize beamforming 184 withthe UE 104 to compensate for the extremely high path loss and shortrange.

The EPC 160 may include a Mobility Management Entity (MME) 162, otherMMEs 164, a Serving Gateway 166, a Multimedia Broadcast MulticastService (MBMS) Gateway 168, a Broadcast Multicast Service Center (BM-SC)170, and a Packet Data Network (PDN) Gateway 172. The MME 162 may be incommunication with a Home Subscriber Server (HSS) 174. The MME 162 isthe control node that processes the signaling between the UEs 104 andthe EPC 160. Generally, the MME 162 provides bearer and connectionmanagement. All user Internet protocol (IP) packets are transferredthrough the Serving Gateway 166, which itself is connected to the PDNGateway 172. The PDN Gateway 172 provides UE IP address allocation aswell as other functions. The PDN Gateway 172 and the BM-SC 170 areconnected to the IP Services 176. The IP Services 176 may include theInternet, an intranet, an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS), a PS StreamingService (PSS), and/or other IP services. The BM-SC 170 may providefunctions for MBMS user service provisioning and delivery. The BM-SC 170may serve as an entry point for content provider MBMS transmission, maybe used to authorize and initiate MBMS Bearer Services within a publicland mobile network (PLMN), and may be used to schedule MBMStransmissions. The MBMS Gateway 168 may be used to distribute MBMStraffic to the base stations 102 belonging to a Multicast BroadcastSingle Frequency Network (MBSFN) area broadcasting a particular service,and may be responsible for session management (start/stop) and forcollecting eMBMS related charging information.

The base station may also be referred to as a gNB, Node B, evolved NodeB (eNB), an access point, a base transceiver station, a radio basestation, a radio transceiver, a transceiver function, a basic serviceset (BSS), an extended service set (ESS), or some other suitableterminology. The base station 102 provides an access point to the EPC160 for a UE 104. Examples of UEs 104 include a cellular phone, a smartphone, a session initiation protocol (SIP) phone, a laptop, a personaldigital assistant (PDA), a satellite radio, a global positioning system,a multimedia device, a video device, a digital audio player (e.g., MP3player), a camera, a game console, a tablet, a smart device, a wearabledevice, a vehicle, an electric meter, a gas pump, a toaster, or anyother similar functioning device. Some of the UEs 104 may be referred toas IoT devices (e.g., parking meter, gas pump, toaster, vehicles, etc.).The UE 104 may also be referred to as a station, a mobile station, asubscriber station, a mobile unit, a subscriber unit, a wireless unit, aremote unit, a mobile device, a wireless device, a wirelesscommunications device, a remote device, a mobile subscriber station, anaccess terminal, a mobile terminal, a wireless terminal, a remoteterminal, a handset, a user agent, a mobile client, a client, or someother suitable terminology.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a base station 210 in communication with aUE 250 in an access network. In the DL, IP packets from the EPC 160 maybe provided to a controller/processor 275. The controller/processor 275implements layer 3 and layer 2 functionality. Layer 3 includes a radioresource control (RRC) layer, and layer 2 includes a packet dataconvergence protocol (PDCP) layer, a radio link control (RLC) layer, anda medium access control (MAC) layer. The controller/processor 275provides RRC layer functionality associated with broadcasting of systeminformation (e.g., MIB, SIBs), RRC connection control (e.g., RRCconnection paging, RRC connection establishment, RRC connectionmodification, and RRC connection release), inter radio access technology(RAT) mobility, and measurement configuration for UE measurementreporting; PDCP layer functionality associated with headercompression/decompression, security (ciphering, deciphering, integrityprotection, integrity verification), and handover support functions; RLClayer functionality associated with the transfer of upper layer packetdata units (PDUs), error correction through ARQ, concatenation,segmentation, and reassembly of RLC service data units (SDUs),re-segmentation of RLC data PDUs, and reordering of RLC data PDUs; andMAC layer functionality associated with mapping between logical channelsand transport channels, multiplexing of MAC SDUs onto transport blocks(TBs), demultiplexing of MAC SDUs from TBs, scheduling informationreporting, error correction through HARQ, priority handling, and logicalchannel prioritization.

The transmit (TX) processor 216 and the receive (RX) processor 270implement layer 1 functionality associated with various signalprocessing functions. Layer 1, which includes a physical (PHY) layer,may include error detection on the transport channels, forward errorcorrection (FEC) coding/decoding of the transport channels,interleaving, rate matching, mapping onto physical channels,modulation/demodulation of physical channels, and MIMO antennaprocessing. The TX processor 216 handles mapping to signalconstellations based on various modulation schemes (e.g., binaryphase-shift keying (BPSK), quadrature phase-shift keying (QPSK),M-phase-shift keying (M-PSK), M-quadrature amplitude modulation(M-QAM)). The coded and modulated symbols may then be split intoparallel streams. Each stream may then be mapped to an OFDM subcarrier,multiplexed with a reference signal (e.g., pilot) in the time and/orfrequency domain, and then combined together using an Inverse FastFourier Transform (IFFT) to produce a physical channel carrying a timedomain OFDM symbol stream. The OFDM stream is spatially precoded toproduce multiple spatial streams. Channel estimates from a channelestimator 274 may be used to determine the coding and modulation scheme,as well as for spatial processing. The channel estimate may be derivedfrom a reference signal and/or channel condition feedback transmitted bythe UE 250. Each spatial stream may then be provided to a differentantenna 220 via a separate transmitter 218TX. Each transmitter 218TX maymodulate an RF carrier with a respective spatial stream fortransmission.

At the UE 250, each receiver 254RX receives a signal through itsrespective antenna 252. Each receiver 254RX recovers informationmodulated onto an RF carrier and provides the information to the receive(RX) processor 256. The TX processor 268 and the RX processor 256implement layer 1 functionality associated with various signalprocessing functions. The RX processor 256 may perform spatialprocessing on the information to recover any spatial streams destinedfor the UE 250. If multiple spatial streams are destined for the UE 250,they may be combined by the RX processor 256 into a single OFDM symbolstream. The RX processor 256 then converts the OFDM symbol stream fromthe time-domain to the frequency domain using a Fast Fourier Transform(FFT). The frequency domain signal comprises a separate OFDM symbolstream for each subcarrier of the OFDM signal. The symbols on eachsubcarrier, and the reference signal, are recovered and demodulated bydetermining the most likely signal constellation points transmitted bythe base station 210. These soft decisions may be based on channelestimates computed by the channel estimator 258. The soft decisions arethen decoded and deinterleaved to recover the data and control signalsthat were originally transmitted by the base station 210 on the physicalchannel. The data and control signals are then provided to thecontroller/processor 259, which implements layer 3 and layer 2functionality.

The controller/processor 259 can be associated with a memory 260 thatstores program codes and data. The memory 260 may be referred to as acomputer-readable medium. In the UL, the controller/processor 259provides demultiplexing between transport and logical channels, packetreassembly, deciphering, header decompression, and control signalprocessing to recover IP packets from the EPC 160. Thecontroller/processor 259 is also responsible for error detection usingan ACK and/or NACK protocol to support HARQ operations.

Similar to the functionality described in connection with the DLtransmission by the base station 210, the controller/processor 259provides RRC layer functionality associated with system information(e.g., MIB, SIBs) acquisition, RRC connections, and measurementreporting; PDCP layer functionality associated with headercompression/decompression, and security (ciphering, deciphering,integrity protection, integrity verification); RLC layer functionalityassociated with the transfer of upper layer PDUs, error correctionthrough ARQ, concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly of RLC SDUs,re-segmentation of RLC data PDUs, and reordering of RLC data PDUs; andMAC layer functionality associated with mapping between logical channelsand transport channels, multiplexing of MAC SDUs onto TBs,demultiplexing of MAC SDUs from TBs, scheduling information reporting,error correction through HARQ, priority handling, and logical channelprioritization.

Channel estimates derived by a channel estimator 258 from a referencesignal or feedback transmitted by the base station 210 may be used bythe TX processor 268 to select the appropriate coding and modulationschemes, and to facilitate spatial processing. The spatial streamsgenerated by the TX processor 268 may be provided to different antenna252 via separate transmitters 254TX. Each transmitter 254TX may modulatean RF carrier with a respective spatial stream for transmission. The ULtransmission is processed at the base station 210 in a manner similar tothat described in connection with the receiver function at the UE 250.Each receiver 218RX receives a signal through its respective antenna220. Each receiver 218RX recovers information modulated onto an RFcarrier and provides the information to a RX processor 270.

The controller/processor 275 can be associated with a memory 276 thatstores program codes and data. The memory 276 may be referred to as acomputer-readable medium. In the UL, the controller/processor 275provides demultiplexing between transport and logical channels, packetreassembly, deciphering, header decompression, control signal processingto recover IP packets from the UE 250. IP packets from thecontroller/processor 275 may be provided to the EPC 160. Thecontroller/processor 275 is also responsible for error detection usingan ACK and/or NACK protocol to support HARQ operations.

New radio (NR) may refer to radios configured to operate according to anew air interface (e.g., other than Orthogonal Frequency DivisionalMultiple Access (OFDMA)-based air interfaces) or fixed transport layer(e.g., other than Internet Protocol (IP)). NR may utilize OFDM with acyclic prefix (CP) on the uplink and downlink and may include supportfor half-duplex operation using time division duplexing (TDD). NR mayinclude Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) service targeting widebandwidth (e.g., 80 MHz beyond), millimeter wave (mmW) targeting highcarrier frequency (e.g., 60 GHz), massive MTC (mMTC) targetingnon-backward compatible MTC techniques, and/or mission criticaltargeting ultra-reliable low latency communications (URLLC) service.

A single component carrier bandwidth of 100 MHZ may be supported. In oneexample, NR resource blocks (RBs) may span 12 sub-carriers with asub-carrier bandwidth of 60 kHz over a 0.125 ms duration or a bandwidthof 15 kHz over a 0.5 ms duration. Each radio frame may consist of 20 or80 subframes (or NR slots) with a length of 10 ms. Each subframe mayindicate a link direction (i.e., DL or UL) for data transmission and thelink direction for each subframe may be dynamically switched. Eachsubframe may include DL/UL data as well as DL/UL control data. UL and DLsubframes for NR may be as described in more detail below with respectto FIGS. 5 and 6.

The NR RAN may include a central unit (CU) and distributed units (DUs).A NR BS (e.g., gNB, 5G Node B, Node B, transmission reception point(TRP), access point (AP)) may correspond to one or multiple BSs. NRcells can be configured as access cells (ACells) or data only cells(DCells). For example, the RAN (e.g., a central unit or distributedunit) can configure the cells. DCells may be cells used for carrieraggregation or dual connectivity and may not be used for initial access,cell selection/reselection, or handover. In some cases DCells may nottransmit synchronization signals (SS) in some cases DCells may transmitSS. NR BSs may transmit downlink signals to UEs indicating the celltype. Based on the cell type indication, the UE may communicate with theNR BS. For example, the UE may determine NR BSs to consider for cellselection, access, handover, and/or measurement based on the indicatedcell type.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example logical architecture 300 of a distributedRAN, according to aspects of the present disclosure. A 5G access node306 may include an access node controller (ANC) 302. The ANC may be acentral unit (CU) of the distributed RAN 300. The backhaul interface tothe next generation core network (NG-CN) 304 may terminate at the ANC.The backhaul interface to neighboring next generation access nodes(NG-ANs) may terminate at the ANC. The ANC may include one or more TRPs308 (which may also be referred to as BSs, NR BSs, Node Bs, 5G NBs, APs,or some other term). As described above, a TRP may be usedinterchangeably with “cell.”

The TRPs 308 may be a distributed unit (DU). The TRPs may be connectedto one ANC (ANC 302) or more than one ANC (not illustrated). Forexample, for RAN sharing, radio as a service (RaaS), and servicespecific AND deployments, the TRP may be connected to more than one ANC.A TRP may include one or more antenna ports. The TRPs may be configuredto individually (e.g., dynamic selection) or jointly (e.g., jointtransmission) serve traffic to a UE.

The local architecture of the distributed RAN 300 may be used toillustrate fronthaul definition. The architecture may be defined thatsupport fronthauling solutions across different deployment types. Forexample, the architecture may be based on transmit network capabilities(e.g., bandwidth, latency, and/or jitter). The architecture may sharefeatures and/or components with LTE. According to aspects, the nextgeneration AN (NG-AN) 310 may support dual connectivity with NR. TheNG-AN may share a common fronthaul for LTE and NR.

The architecture may enable cooperation between and among TRPs 308. Forexample, cooperation may be preset within a TRP and/or across TRPs viathe ANC 302. According to aspects, no inter-TRP interface may beneeded/present.

According to aspects, a dynamic configuration of split logical functionsmay be present within the architecture of the distributed RAN 300. ThePDCP, RLC, MAC protocol may be adaptably placed at the ANC or TRP.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example physical architecture of a distributed RAN400, according to aspects of the present disclosure. A centralized corenetwork unit (C-CU) 402 may host core network functions. The C-CU may becentrally deployed. C-CU functionality may be offloaded (e.g., toadvanced wireless services (AWS)), in an effort to handle peak capacity.A centralized RAN unit (C-RU) 404 may host one or more ANC functions.Optionally, the C-RU may host core network functions locally. The C-RUmay have distributed deployment. The C-RU may be closer to the networkedge. A distributed unit (DU) 406 may host one or more TRPs. The DU maybe located at edges of the network with radio frequency (RF)functionality.

FIG. 5 is a diagram 500 showing an example of a DL-centric subframe. TheDL-centric subframe may include a control portion 502. The controlportion 502 may exist in the initial or beginning portion of theDL-centric subframe. The control portion 502 may include variousscheduling information and/or control information corresponding tovarious portions of the DL-centric subframe. In some configurations, thecontrol portion 502 may be a physical DL control channel (PDCCH), asindicated in FIG. 5. The DL-centric subframe may also include a DL dataportion 504. The DL data portion 504 may sometimes be referred to as thepayload of the DL-centric subframe. The DL data portion 504 may includethe communication resources utilized to communicate DL data from thescheduling entity (e.g., UE or BS) to the subordinate entity (e.g., UE).In some configurations, the DL data portion 504 may be a physical DLshared channel (PDSCH).

The DL-centric subframe may also include a common UL portion 506. Thecommon UL portion 506 may sometimes be referred to as an UL burst, acommon UL burst, and/or various other suitable terms. The common ULportion 506 may include feedback information corresponding to variousother portions of the DL-centric subframe. For example, the common ULportion 506 may include feedback information corresponding to thecontrol portion 502. Non-limiting examples of feedback information mayinclude an ACK signal, a NACK signal, a HARQ indicator, and/or variousother suitable types of information. The common UL portion 506 mayinclude additional or alternative information, such as informationpertaining to random access channel (RACH) procedures, schedulingrequests (SRs), and various other suitable types of information.

As illustrated in FIG. 5, the end of the DL data portion 504 may beseparated in time from the beginning of the common UL portion 506. Thistime separation may sometimes be referred to as a gap, a guard period, aguard interval, and/or various other suitable terms. This separationprovides time for the switch-over from DL communication (e.g., receptionoperation by the subordinate entity (e.g., UE)) to UL communication(e.g., transmission by the subordinate entity (e.g., UE)). One ofordinary skill in the art will understand that the foregoing is merelyone example of a DL-centric subframe and alternative structures havingsimilar features may exist without necessarily deviating from theaspects described herein.

FIG. 6 is a diagram 600 showing an example of an UL-centric subframe.The UL-centric subframe may include a control portion 602. The controlportion 602 may exist in the initial or beginning portion of theUL-centric subframe. The control portion 602 in FIG. 6 may be similar tothe control portion 502 described above with reference to FIG. 5. TheUL-centric subframe may also include an UL data portion 604. The UL dataportion 604 may sometimes be referred to as the pay load of theUL-centric subframe. The UL portion may refer to the communicationresources utilized to communicate UL data from the subordinate entity(e.g., UE) to the scheduling entity (e.g., UE or BS). In someconfigurations, the control portion 602 may be a physical DL controlchannel (PDCCH).

As illustrated in FIG. 6, the end of the control portion 602 may beseparated in time from the beginning of the UL data portion 604. Thistime separation may sometimes be referred to as a gap, guard period,guard interval, and/or various other suitable terms. This separationprovides time for the switch-over from DL communication (e.g., receptionoperation by the scheduling entity) to UL communication (e.g.,transmission by the scheduling entity). The UL-centric subframe may alsoinclude a common UL portion 606. The common UL portion 606 in FIG. 6 maybe similar to the common UL portion 506 described above with referenceto FIG. 5. The common UL portion 606 may additionally or alternativelyinclude information pertaining to channel quality indicator (CQI),sounding reference signals (SRSs), and various other suitable types ofinformation. One of ordinary skill in the art will understand that theforegoing is merely one example of an UL-centric subframe andalternative structures having similar features may exist withoutnecessarily deviating from the aspects described herein.

In some circumstances, two or more subordinate entities (e.g., UEs) maycommunicate with each other using sidelink signals. Real-worldapplications of such sidelink communications may include public safety,proximity services, UE-to-network relaying, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V)communications, Internet of Everything (IoE) communications, IoTcommunications, mission-critical mesh, and/or various other suitableapplications. Generally, a sidelink signal may refer to a signalcommunicated from one subordinate entity (e.g., UE1) to anothersubordinate entity (e.g., UE2) without relaying that communicationthrough the scheduling entity (e.g., UE or BS), even though thescheduling entity may be utilized for scheduling and/or controlpurposes. In some examples, the sidelink signals may be communicatedusing a licensed spectrum (unlike wireless local area networks, whichtypically use an unlicensed spectrum).

Channel state information (CSI) reports provide the network withinformation about the current channel conditions. CSI usually comprisesone or more pieces of information: rank indicator (RI), precoder matrixindicator (PMI), channel-quality indicator (CQI), and channel stateinformation reference signal (CSI-RS) resource indicator (CRI).

FIG. 7 is a diagram 700 illustrating communication between the basestation 702 and the UE 704. The base station 702 communicates with theUE 704 according to a time structure defined by slots 712-0 to 712-S.The UE 704 receives down-link signals from the base station 702according to a time structure defined by slots 714-0 to 714-S. The UE704 transmits up-link signals to the base station 702 according to atime structure defined by slots 716-0 to 716-S.

In this example, the slot 712-0 includes a down link control channel(DCCH) 742 such as a physical down link control channel (PDCCH). TheDCCH 742 contains a CSI trigger 743 that requests the UE 704 to send MCSI reports after a delay time period 722 upon receiving the CSI trigger743. M is an integer greater than 1. Further, the CSI trigger 743 mayindicate that the delay time period 722 is K slots. Accordingly, the UE704 may send the CSI reports 760-1 to 760-N in a UCI region 752 in theslot 712-K, which is received by the base station 702. The UCI region752 may be part of a physical up-link shared channel (PUSCH) in the slot712-K. In certain configurations, the UCI region 752 may be a physicalup-link control channel (PUCCH) physical up-link control channel.

When the base station 702 transmits down-link data in the slot 712-0,due to the distance between the base station 702 and the UE 704, the UE704 receives the data in the slot 714-0, which is a propagation delayT_(prop) after the slot 712-0. The T_(prop) is the time durationrequired for a signal to travel from the base station 702 to the UE 704.

Further, in this example, the UE 704 transmits a signal to the basestation 702 in the slot 716-K. In order for the base station 702 toreceive the signal in the slot 712-K, due to the distance between the UE704 and the base station 702, the UE 704 sets the slot 716-K oneT_(prop) prior to the slot 712-K. Accordingly, the slot 716-K is twoT_(prop) prior to the slot 712-K. The base station 702 may set a timingadvance (TA) for the UE 704. The timing advance is about two T_(prop). Aboundary of a slot in the slots 716-0 to 716-S is a timing advance priorto the corresponding boundary in the slots 714-0 to 714-S. For example,the start boundary of the slot 716-K is a timing advance prior to thestart boundary of the slot 714-K.

As described supra, the base station 702 may send the CSI trigger 743 inthe DCCH 742 to request the UE 704 to send M CSI reports to the basestation 702. The UE 704, in response, may select N CSI reports, i.e.,CSI reports 760-1 to 760-N, of the M CSI reports for updating. Further,the UE 704 may be configured with a respective estimated processing timeperiod for updating (or generating) each one of the CSI reports 760-1 to760-N. In certain configurations, with respect to a particular CSIreport, the estimated processing time period for the particular CSIreport is the minimum required number of symbol periods (e.g., OFDMsymbols) required by the UE 704 to detect and decode the DCCH 742,preform channel estimation, and calculate CSI, assuming that the UE 704transmits CSI only (with no HARQ ACK/NACK) on a PUSCH for a givennumerology and CSI complexity. The required time for channel estimationrefers to the time gap from the last symbol of CSI-RS to the timelinethat UE finishes its channel estimation processing.

In this example, more specifically, upon receiving the CSI trigger 743,prior to updating the requested CSI reports 760-1 to 760-N, the UE 704can determine N estimated processing time periods Z₁ to Z_(N) forupdating the CSI reports 760-1 to 760-N, respectively. The UE 704 thendetermines a maximum processing time period Z_(max) that is the largestamong the Z₁ to Z_(N).

Further, the UE 704 determines a wait time period 726 associated withthe delay time period 722. The wait time period 726 is the time periodavailable to the UE 704 for updating and sending the CSI reports 760-1to 760-N, such that the base station 702 receives those CSI reportsafter the delay time period 722 from transmitting the DCCH 742.

In certain configurations, the wait time period 726 starts from thesymbol period immediately after the end the last symbol period in timeof the CSI trigger 743 in the slot 714-0 and ends at the symbol periodimmediately before the first symbol period in time of the UCI region752.

In certain configurations, a wait time period 726′ starts from thesymbol period immediately after the end of a particular reference symbolperiod 748 and ends at the symbol period immediately before the firstsymbol period in time of the UCI region 752. The reference symbol period748 may be the last symbol period of the latest of: aperiodic CSI-RSresource for channel measurements, aperiodic CSI-IM used forinterference measurements, and aperiodic CSI-RS for interferencemeasurement.

Subsequently, in one example, the UE 704 compares the Z_(max) with thewait time period 726. When the Z_(max) is smaller than or equal to thewait time period 726, the UE 704 may proceed with updating the CSIreports 760-1 to 760-N. The UE 704 then transmits the CSI reports 760-1to 760-N to the base station 702 in the UCI region 752.

When the Z_(max) is greater than the wait time period 726, the UE 704may decide not to update and transmit some or all of the CSI reports760-1 to 760-N. In certain configurations, the UE 704 may decide toupdate N CSI reports of the CSI reports 760-1 to 760-N, where a maximumprocessing time period among the processing time periods for the N CSIreports is smaller than or equal to the wait time period 726. In certainconfigurations, N is the largest integer smaller than M while themaximum processing time period among the processing time periods for theN CSI reports is smaller than or equal to the wait time period 726.

FIG. 8 is a flow chart 800 of a method (process) for updating multipleCSI reports. The method may be performed by a UE (e.g., the UE 704, theapparatus 902, and the apparatus 902′). At operation 802, the UEreceives, from a base station (e.g., the base station 702), a trigger(e.g., the CSI trigger 743) for reporting M CSI reports. M is an integergreater than 0. In certain configurations, the trigger indicates a delaytime period for delaying transmitting the M CSI reports.

At operation 804, the UE determines a wait time period (e.g., the waittime period 726 or the wait time period 726′) from a reference point toa time point (e.g., the first symbol period of the UCI region 752) atwhich N CSI reports of the M CSI reports are to be transmitted based onthe delay time period and a timing advance of the UE. N is an integergreater than 0 and smaller than or equal to M.

At operation 806, the UE determines N respective processing time periods(e.g., the N estimated processing time periods Z₁ to Z_(N)) for updatingthe N CSI reports. At operation 808, the UE determines a maximumprocessing time period (e.g., Z_(max)) that is the largest among the Nrespective processing time periods.

In certain configurations, the reference time point is the end of a lastsymbol period of symbol periods carrying the trigger. In certainconfigurations, the reference time point is the end of a last symbolperiod (e.g., the reference symbol period 748) of symbol periodscarrying reference signals to be measured for updating the N CSIreports.

At operation 810, the UE updates the N CSI reports when the maximumprocessing time period is smaller than or equal to the wait time period.At operation 812, the UE transmits the N CSI reports to the base stationon an up-link channel (e.g., the UCI region 752) after the wait timeperiod from the reference time point.

FIG. 9 is a conceptual data flow diagram 900 illustrating the data flowbetween different components/means in an exemplary apparatus 902. Theapparatus 902 may be a UE. The apparatus 902 includes a receptioncomponent 904, a decoding component 906, a CSI reporting component 908,and a transmission component 910.

The reception component 904 receives, from a base station 950 (e.g., thebase station 702), a trigger (e.g., the CSI trigger 743) for reporting MCSI reports. M is an integer greater than 0. The decoding component 906decodes the trigger. In certain configurations, the trigger indicates adelay time period for delaying transmitting the M CSI reports.

The CSI reporting component 908 determines a wait time period (e.g., thewait time period 726 or the wait time period 726′) from a referencepoint to a time point (e.g., the first symbol period of the UCI region752) at which N CSI reports of the M CSI reports are to be transmittedbased on the delay time period and a timing advance of the UE. N is aninteger greater than 0 and smaller than or equal to M.

The CSI reporting component 908 determines N respective processing timeperiods (e.g., the N estimated processing time periods Z₁ to Z_(N)) forupdating the N CSI reports. The CSI reporting component 908 determines amaximum processing time period (e.g., Z_(max)) that is the largest amongthe N respective processing time periods.

In certain configurations, the reference time point is the end of a lastsymbol period of symbol periods carrying the trigger. In certainconfigurations, the reference time point is the end of a last symbolperiod (e.g., the reference symbol period 748) of symbol periodscarrying reference signals to be measured for updating the N CSIreports.

The CSI reporting component 908 updates the N CSI reports when themaximum processing time period is smaller than or equal to the wait timeperiod. The transmission component 910 transmits the N CSI reports tothe base station on an up-link channel (e.g., the UCI region 752) afterthe wait time period from the reference time point.

FIG. 10 is a diagram 1000 illustrating an example of a hardwareimplementation for an apparatus 902′ employing a processing system 1014.The apparatus 902′ may be a UE. The processing system 1014 may beimplemented with a bus architecture, represented generally by a bus1024. The bus 1024 may include any number of interconnecting buses andbridges depending on the specific application of the processing system1014 and the overall design constraints. The bus 1024 links togethervarious circuits including one or more processors and/or hardwarecomponents, represented by one or more processors 1004, the receptioncomponent 904, the decoding component 906, the CSI reporting component908, the transmission component 910, and a computer-readablemedium/memory 1006. The bus 1024 may also link various other circuitssuch as timing sources, peripherals, voltage regulators, and powermanagement circuits, etc.

The processing system 1014 may be coupled to a transceiver 1010, whichmay be one or more of the transceivers 254. The transceiver 1010 iscoupled to one or more antennas 1020, which may be the communicationantennas 252.

The transceiver 1010 provides a means for communicating with variousother apparatus over a transmission medium. The transceiver 1010receives a signal from the one or more antennas 1020, extractsinformation from the received signal, and provides the extractedinformation to the processing system 1014, specifically the receptioncomponent 904. In addition, the transceiver 1010 receives informationfrom the processing system 1014, specifically the transmission component910, and based on the received information, generates a signal to beapplied to the one or more antennas 1020.

The processing system 1014 includes one or more processors 1004 coupledto a computer-readable medium/memory 1006. The one or more processors1004 are responsible for general processing, including the execution ofsoftware stored on the computer-readable medium/memory 1006. Thesoftware, when executed by the one or more processors 1004, causes theprocessing system 1014 to perform the various functions described suprafor any particular apparatus. The computer-readable medium/memory 1006may also be used for storing data that is manipulated by the one or moreprocessors 1004 when executing software. The processing system 1014further includes at least one of the reception component 904, thedecoding component 906, the CSI reporting component 908, and thetransmission component 910. The components may be software componentsrunning in the one or more processors 1004, resident/stored in thecomputer readable medium/memory 1006, one or more hardware componentscoupled to the one or more processors 1004, or some combination thereof.The processing system 1014 may be a component of the UE 250 and mayinclude the memory 260 and/or at least one of the TX processor 268, theRX processor 256, and the communication processor 259.

In one configuration, the apparatus 902/apparatus 902′ for wirelesscommunication includes means for performing each of the operations ofFIG. 8. The aforementioned means may be one or more of theaforementioned components of the apparatus 902 and/or the processingsystem 1014 of the apparatus 902′ configured to perform the functionsrecited by the aforementioned means.

As described supra, the processing system 1014 may include the TXProcessor 268, the RX Processor 256, and the communication processor259. As such, in one configuration, the aforementioned means may be theTX Processor 268, the RX Processor 256, and the communication processor259 configured to perform the functions recited by the aforementionedmeans.

It is understood that the specific order or hierarchy of blocks in theprocesses/flowcharts disclosed is an illustration of exemplaryapproaches. Based upon design preferences, it is understood that thespecific order or hierarchy of blocks in the processes/flowcharts may berearranged. Further, some blocks may be combined or omitted. Theaccompanying method claims present elements of the various blocks in asample order, and are not meant to be limited to the specific order orhierarchy presented.

The previous description is provided to enable any person skilled in theart to practice the various aspects described herein. Variousmodifications to these aspects will be readily apparent to those skilledin the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied toother aspects. Thus, the claims are not intended to be limited to theaspects shown herein, but is to be accorded the full scope consistentwith the language claims, wherein reference to an element in thesingular is not intended to mean “one and only one” unless specificallyso stated, but rather “one or more.” The word “exemplary” is used hereinto mean “serving as an example, instance, or illustration.” Any aspectdescribed herein as “exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed aspreferred or advantageous over other aspects. Unless specifically statedotherwise, the term “some” refers to one or more. Combinations such as“at least one of A, B, or C,” “one or more of A, B, or C,” “at least oneof A, B, and C,” “one or more of A, B, and C,” and “A, B, C, or anycombination thereof” include any combination of A, B, and/or C, and mayinclude multiples of A, multiples of B, or multiples of C. Specifically,combinations such as “at least one of A, B, or C,” “one or more of A, B,or C,” “at least one of A, B, and C,” “one or more of A, B, and C,” and“A, B, C, or any combination thereof” may be A only, B only, C only, Aand B, A and C, B and C, or A and B and C, where any such combinationsmay contain one or more member or members of A, B, or C. All structuraland functional equivalents to the elements of the various aspectsdescribed throughout this disclosure that are known or later come to beknown to those of ordinary skill in the art are expressly incorporatedherein by reference and are intended to be encompassed by the claims.Moreover, nothing disclosed herein is intended to be dedicated to thepublic regardless of whether such disclosure is explicitly recited inthe claims. The words “module,” “mechanism,” “element,” “device,” andthe like may not be a substitute for the word “means.” As such, no claimelement is to be construed as a means plus function unless the elementis expressly recited using the phrase “means for.”

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of wireless communication of a userequipment (UE), comprising: receiving, from a base station, a triggerfor reporting channel state information (CSI) reports; determining await time period at which the CSI reports are to be transmitted;determining respective processing time periods for generating the CSIreports prior to the generation of the CSI reports; and generating theCSI reports when the largest one of the respective processing timeperiods is smaller than or equal to the wait time period.
 2. The methodof claim 1, wherein the trigger indicates a delay time period fordelaying transmitting the CSI reports, wherein the wait time period isdetermined based on the delay time period and a timing advance of theUE.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein a reference time point todetermine the wait time period is the end of a last symbol period ofsymbol periods carrying the trigger or reference signals to be measuredfor generating the CSI reports.
 4. The method of claim 3, furthercomprising: transmitting the CSI reports to the base station on anup-link channel after the wait time period from the reference timepoint.
 5. An apparatus for wireless communication, the apparatus being auser equipment (UE), comprising: a memory; and at least one processorcoupled to the memory and configured to: receive, from a base station, atrigger for reporting channel state information (CSI) reports; determinea wait time period at which the CSI reports are to be transmitted;determine respective processing time periods for generating the CSIreports prior to the generation of the CSI reports; and generating theCSI reports when the largest gone of the respective processing timeperiods is smaller than or equal to the wait time period.
 6. Theapparatus of claim 5, wherein the trigger indicates a delay time periodfor delaying transmitting the CSI reports, wherein the wait time periodis determined based on the delay time period and a timing advance of theUE.
 7. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein thea reference time point fordetermining the wait time period is the end of a last symbol period ofsymbol periods carrying the trigger or reference signals to be measuredfor generating the CSI reports.
 8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein theat least one processor is further configured to: transmit the CSIreports to the base station on an up-link channel after the wait timeperiod from the reference time point.
 9. A method of wirelesscommunication of a user equipment (UE), comprising: receiving, from abase station, a trigger for reporting M channel state information (CSI)reports, M being an integer greater than 0; determining a wait timeperiod which N CSI reports of the M CSI reports are to be transmitted, Nbeing an integer greater than 0 and smaller than or equal to M;determining N respective processing time periods for generating the NCSI reports prior to generating the N CSI reports; determining a maximumprocessing time period that is the largest among the N respectiveprocessing time periods; determining whether to update the N CSI reportsbased on the maximum processing time period and the wait time periodprior to generating the N CSI reports; and refraining from generatingand transmitting at least one of the N CSI reports when the maximumprocessing time period is greater than the wait time period.
 10. Themethod of claim 9, wherein the trigger indicates a delay time period fordelaying transmitting the N CSI reports, wherein the wait time period isdetermined based on the delay time period and a timing advance of theUE.
 11. The method of claim 9, wherein a reference time point is the endof a last symbol period of symbol periods carrying the trigger.
 12. Themethod of claim 9, wherein the reference time point is the end of a lastsymbol period of symbol periods carrying reference signals to bemeasured for generating the N CSI reports.
 13. The method of claim 9,further comprising: generating the N CSI reports when the maximumprocessing time period is smaller than or equal to the wait time period.14. The method of claim 13, further comprising: transmitting the N CSIreports to the base station on an up-link channel after the wait timeperiod from the reference time point.